William b



(No Model.)

W. B. ARNOLD 'LAST. v No. 581,450. Patented Apr. 27, 1897.

NITED STATES PATENT Felon,

I lVILLIAM B. ARNOLD, OF ABINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,450, dated April 2'7, 1897. Application filed June 18, 1894. Renewed February 23, 1897. Serial No. 624,729. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. ARNOLD,' of Abington, county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Lasts and Holding Mechanism Therefor, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

Boots and shoes in the course of their manufacture are subjected to various operations which require that they be handled a great number of times by different operatives, each operative performing the particular step allotted to him, and during these successive operations the material of which the upper or other parts of the shoe is composed is apt to be soiled and seriously damaged by carelessness, and, more than this, the top of the shoe, which is frequently lined at its interior with light-colored leather, silk, satin, &c., is apt to be badly soiled, and the stock is apt to be bent out of shape and thus be creased or wrinkled.

In an ordinary shop the lined upper is fitted to a last provided With an inner sole, and the upper is then lasted, and if the shoeis to be welted the welt is stitched to the upper and to a portion of the inner sole, and thereafter.

the inner edge of the welt and the edge of the upper are trimmed ofi, the filling for the ball of the sole and the shank-piece is added, the outer sole is tacked on and its edge is stitched to the welt, the channel-flap is rolled out, the sole is beaten out on a beating-out machine, the heel is added and trimmed and blocked, and the bottom of the sole is finished and th upper then treed.

Shoes are commonly ordered in cases, each case containing a number of pairs of different sizes, and an order given in a factory is worked through in cases, and when an operation has been performed upon one machine or by one gang of operatives the shoes to make the case are put upon a stand having a series of rods or cross-bars and mounted upon rollers to thus make a truck, and these trucks are wheeled from one to another machine, the shoes are put through the machine or are subjected to an operation by an operative and then put back upon the truck to go to another operative, and so 011.

During the manufacture of a welted shoe the last upon which the upper was lasted is retained in the shoe until just preparatory to the heeling operation, when the last is removed and the shoe is put upon a stronger last to go into the heeling-machine, and the heeling having been finished-including the uniting of the heel and sometimes the trimmin gthe last is replaced, and thereafter the different operations above alluded to are carried on, the operative usually holding the shoe in his hand, and it is during these stages that the top of the shoe becomes wrinkled and soiled not only by handling in the hands of the operative, but also the shoe becomes damaged by one shoe striking against another on the carriage upon which they are laid to be moved from one to the next operation.

In accordance with my invention I employ in the shoe a last and also an ankle-form, and particularly for the production of a welted shoe I leave this last and ankle-form in the shoe throughout all the operations alluded'to, and in whatever machine, and as well upon the carriage referred to, I prefer to employ suitable means, to be hereinafter described, to correctly position the last and prevent it from being twisted sidewise, or from tipping longitudinally out of place.

Figure 1, in side elevation, partially broken out, shows a last and an ankle-form embodying my invention and supported as the same may be supported during the various steps to which the shoe Willbe subjected during the process of manufacture, the upper of a shoe being represented upon the last in section. Fig. 2 shows a last of the form I prefer to use removed, the said last being fully described in application, Serial No. 494,993, filed De cember 28, 1893; and Fig. 3 is a section in the line 00, Fig. l.

In the drawings, a represents a base-plate upon which in the-embodimentof my invention herein shown are erected two pins a a the said base-plate being secured in position by suitable screws or other devices upon a bed a The bed a may be part of a lasting-machine or a beating-out machine or a heeling-ma chine or any other machine or support for a shoe while being subjected to its various operations, or it may be a shelf of a carriage containing a series of shelves sufficient in extent to hold more or less of a case of shoes.

The last may be of usual or desired construction, but as herein shown it consists of a fore part b and a heel part I), having a relative movement for shortening the last, said parts being preferably connected by a suitable hinge b shown as located at such point above the bottom of the last as will enable the heel part of the last to retain its working position when forced into the shoe and also down in place.

The heel part b of the last is shown as having a double socket, and for the best results as to strength and durability the socket will be a metal socket, as c, and it will have attached to or forming a part of it a metallic bottom plate c',against which may be clenched the nails used to attach the heel h to the sole h.

When a double socket is made of metal, it will preferably be secured in the wooden body of the last by a suitable pin or bolt 0 I have provided as an especial feature in my improved method of handling boots and shoes during their manufacture an ankle-form d,

it being herein shown as also provided with a double socket or metallic block (1, provided at its upper end with pins d d to enter the holes in the double socket of the heel part of the last, the socket-piece d having at its lower end suitable holes cl (1 to receive the pins a a before described.

For the best results the ankle-form is of such size and shape as to substantially fill the top of the shoe down to the heel-piece, and the ankle-form is so shaped in this present embodiment of my invention as to pass below the top of the comb e of the front piece 12 of the last.

When the ankle-form has been put into the shoe-upper, it acts as a lock for the last, and the pins 011 one part entering the holes on the other part further lock the ankle-form and last together, and the shoe-upper containing the last and the ankle-form may be readily removed from the pins a a in whatever machine they may be placed or upon the carriage and carried freely about from point to point without fear of distorting the upper or soiling the lining thereof and just as freely as though the ankle form or member was not attached.

It will be understood that this invention would not be departed from by making holes in the pins a a and letting pins from the block at enter said holes or if the reverse of the pin-and-hole contrivances hereinbefore described were used.

It is of course obvious that the number of pins or equivalent devices used may be varied from the two shown so long as the same are arranged or adapted to hold the members against the lateral movement referred to.

By keeping the last in the shoe and by using the socket or sockets in the ankle-form to cooperate with the pin or pins of whatever machine or carriage is to sustain the shoe to be subjected to an operation it is possible to not only, as stated, correctly aline the lasted shoe with other working parts of the machine, but also the shoe does not have to be laid down, but may be always taken from one pin or set of pins and put onto another pin or set of pins and be held accurately against any liability of one shoe striking against another one and becoming marred or injured.

The feature of carrying the shoes containing the lasts upon pins of a carriage, where they are kept distinctly separated and wherein the uppers themselves are not laid down upon anything to become damaged or soiled, is a very desirable feature or step of my improved method of manufacture.

This invention is not limited to the use of a last of the form described, although it is greatly preferred to any other last for the rea son that in case a shoe is to be united upon a McKay machine, wherein the stitch to unite the welt to the upper and inner sole is made through and through all said parts or wherein the welt and upper and inner sole are to be united by means of metallic or other driven fastenings, then, and for that operation only, the last is to be removed, and a last of the shape shown may be more readily removed and with less liability of stretching or twisting out of shape or distorting the upper and sole, which is more or less damp during the various stages of its manufacture, than were the fore part and heel of the last all in one piece. After the sole has been united with the upper or welt, as described, the last and ankle-form are again inserted, and they may be retained in the shoe until the latter is fully completed, as above stated.

The socket-pieces herein shown are made of metal solely to add strength to the different parts, because in some of the operations the last is subjected to very considerable pressure, which otherwise might break the wood.

The pins to a herein shown may be more or less separated, the main object of using two pins being to gain breadth of surface to enter the. socket in the neck of the last, and it will be obvious that the hole in the socketpiece must correspond in cross-section with the section of the pins of whatever form.

This invention is not limited to the particular shape or construction of the hinge or other connection between the parts of the last orits method of attachment to the parts of the last, as any usual or suitable connection may serve the purpose.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. A last composed of a fore part and heel part, having a relative movement for shortening the last, combined with-a detachable ankle member, and means for readily connecting said ankle member with and disconnecting the same from said last, substantially as described.

5s1,45o a 2. A last composed of a fore part and a heel part hinged together at a distance from the bottom of the last, combined with an ankle form, and means to temporarily unite the said ankle-form to the heel end of the last, substantially as described.

3. A last, consisting of a fore part and aheel part hinged together at a distance from the bottom of the last, and an ankle-form, combined with means to temporarily unite the ankle-form and the heel of the last at a point below the comb of the last, the ankle-form acting as a brace between the fore part and the heel of the last, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a last, composed of a fore part and a heel part connected by a hinge, said heel part having a double socket, of an ankle-form provided with a double pin to cooperate with the last-socket and temporarily connect the said form and last, said form itself provided with a double socket, substantially as described.

5. A last composed of a fore part and heel part, having a relative movement for shortening the last, an ankle-form and devices to temporarily connect the same with the heel part of said last, combined with a base and means to connect the same with said ankleform to prevent turning of the last sidewise, substantially as described.

6. A last having a double socket and an ankle-form having a double socket, and pins connected with a base-plate and adapted to cooperate with a double socket of the ankleform, and pins between the ankle-form and the socket of the last, to prevent slipping of one part on the other, substantially as described.

7 A base having erected upon it a series of pairs of pins, combined with one or more lasts, each provided with a plurality of holes, removable ankle members having pins to enter the holes'in the respective lasts, said ankle members themselves being provided each with a plurality of holes to cooperate with the pairs of pins on said base, to aid in keeping a series of lasts firmly side by sidewithout contact with each other, when carried on said base, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a last, of a removable portable ankle member for that portion of the shoe which is above said last, said ankle member being adapted to hold the shoe-upper in form during its process of manufacture, and capable of being carried freely about from one to another operation with the last and its shoe and last, said member itself provided at its end opposite said projection with a socket, substantially as described.

10. The combination with a multipart last, of a removable ankle member, means to readily connect the same with and to disconnect it from said last, and connections independent said ankle member between and to hold the parts of said last together when said ankle member is removed, substantially as described.

11. The combination with a last, provided '1 with one or more sockets, and a removable ankle member therefor provided at one end with one or more pins to enter the socket or sockets in said last, said ankle member at its opposite end itself provided with one or more sockets, of a base provided with a series of pins adapted to enter either the socket 0r sockets of the last or of the removable ankle member, whereby said last, or the ankle memher, or the ankle member carrying the last may be sustained upon the said base, substantially as described.

12. The combination with a multipart last, the parts of which have a relative movement to enable the last to be removed from the shoe, of a removable ankle member, and means to connect the same with and disconnect it from said last, said ankle member when in position, locking or'holding together the parts of the last, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM B. ARNOLD.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, M. J. SHERIDAN. 

